By Shane Raynor (Faith Experience)

I sometimes hear frustration from those who think that some groups within Christianity aren’t intellectual enough. Others complain that certain groups are too intellectual. There are entire ministries built around Christian apologetics, some attempting to refute evolution, others trying to reconcile Christianity with evolution, some dispelling the notion that Christians aren’t intellectual, others wearing anti-intellectualism as a badge of honor. I don’t always see a lot of balance in these ministries, because like many specialty groups, they tend to emphasize one area at the expense of others, even when the areas aren’t necessarily in opposition.

From Methodist Thinker

A member of the United Methodist Church’s Call to Action Steering Team says the team’s task was to be “prophetic” and to avoid the “terminal niceness” that has long inhibited realistic discussion of the challenges facing the denomination.

“We were asked to do a deep study of the church,” the Rev. Jorge Acevedo, lead pastor atGrace Church (UMC) in Cape Coral, Fla., said in a recent address to the Wesleyan Renewal Movement, a group of North Georgia Conference clergy.

When God created human beings in his image, God made them male and female (Gen. 1:27). And God called them to be “fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28)…. Therefore, in keeping with the biblical revelation, “we affirm that sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons” (¶161F, The Book of Discipline—2008).

As is the case with all human desires, sexual desires need to be directed and controlled. God’s call to holiness includes Christian stewardship of our sexuality. For this reason the biblical teaching is that “sexual relations are affirmed only with the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage” (¶161F).

By Riley B. Case

United Methodists are in the news again — not because of what UMs are doing in flood-ravaged areas, or for the numbers of mission teams serving in various places, or for spectacular evangelistic efforts, but for internal conflicts over issues related to marriage and homosexuality.

Major articles have appeared in TIME magazine, the Boston Globe, and USA Today. This is because of the Amy DeLong church trial in the Wisconsin Annual Conference, and becausehundreds of United Methodist clergy have pledged to defy church law and perform homosexual unions.

Not surprisingly, most articles in the secular press have given wrong impressions.

By Leah Helen Gallardo Switzer (UMNS)

While most people use their RVs for cross-country vacations, trips to Yosemite or other relaxing getaways, several United Methodists in California have found a way to enjoy their recreational pastimes while helping others.

By Heather Hahn (UMNS)

Members of the Connectional Table, meeting July 25-28, endorsed five proposals that would change The United Methodist Church’s structure and potentially its funding.

East Ohio Area Bishop John L. Hopkins, the Connectional Table’s chairperson, called the proposals “far-reaching.”

By Linda Bloom (UMNS)

The level of severe malnutrition in the Horn of Africa worries even seasoned aid workers like Maurice Bloem.

Church World Service, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and other members of the faith-based ACT Alliance are coordinating their response to the hunger crisis – deepened by civil strife and the worst drought in decades – that is affecting 11 million to 12 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti.

By Sam Hodges, The United Methodist Reporter

It began recently as a small movement in the Minnesota Conference of the United Methodist Church. Now organizers say that more than 900 UM clergy, in conferences across the country, have pledged to officiate at same-sex weddings and other services celebrating homosexual unions, in defiance of church law.

From the Star Tribune

United Methodist leaders have filed a complaint against a Minneapolis pastor, calling for an investigation into whether he conducted ceremonies to bless same-sex unions during Gay Pride Week last month.